


Dragon in the Cage

by TwiliDragonRin



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Awakening AU where Nohr and Hoshido are very distant kingdoms, F/F, Fire Emblem: Awakening Spoilers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 08:03:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13853496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwiliDragonRin/pseuds/TwiliDragonRin
Summary: Robin has found her place with Chrom and Lissa even without her memories from before she met them. and has been living a peaceful life now that the king of Plegia, Gangrel, has been dethroned. Then she has an unforgettable encounter with a mysterious woman she rescued and her life has become even more complicated than it already is.





	1. Maiden from the Sea

“Make sure to keep that chain on it tight.”

Two chains tied tightly around the beast’s long neck. Four men on each side pull back on the chains and even with all of their strength, still struggled to calm the roaring beast. Its tail swung side to side, swiping most men unfortunate enough to stand in the way.

“Stop that tail! Keep it down! Don’t let it get away!”

More chains fly in the air. Chains tie around the beast’s back, torso, and tail. More men gather around and pull the chains back. Finally, the beast collapsed from the stress the chain caused.

“Good. Now keep it secure until we arrive on land. It’ll make us a fortune.”

…

“Chrom, what are we doing here?” Lissa spoke up.

“Yes milord, why are we at the portside?” Frederick asked.

“I have heard rumors that something priceless is being transported from across the sea.”

“Oh, so we were asked to guard the artifact?” Robin added.

Chrom shook his head. “No actually, I just wanted to see for myself. I am fairly curious on this supposed priceless item.”

Lissa huffed. “That explains why you only asked the four of us to go. Well, only me and Robin because we all know that Frederick will never let us go anywhere by ourselves.”

“It is true,” Frederick nodded.

Robin chuckled. “At least it’ll be interesting, no? Though I wonder, why were you not notified Chrom?”

Chrom looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well if this cargo is supposedly important, then why keep it so secret? How did you even find out about this rumor?”

After a pondering for a little bit, Chrom was about to answer Robin’s question until a ship arrived at the port and caught the eye of the Shepards. It’s quite a large vessel that none of them have ever seen before. As the ship docked, the bridge lowered down on the portside and a few men start walking off the ship.

“There are quite a bit of people on the vessel it seems.” Frederick pointed out.

“Indeed,” Chrom added.

One man in particular, a sailor, is walking with a chain in hand. He came to an abrupt halt as he turned back to the ship.

“Get over here!” he ordered.

He yanked on the chain and a woman dressed in a white torn dress is pulled onto the bridge. He yanked on it again and she falls to her knees.

Robin and the rest stared in shock.

“What are they doing to her?!” Chrom fumed.

The woman with silver hair struggled to get on her feet. The sailor yanked on the chain one more which is tied around the woman’s neck. She was forced onto her feet and guided off the bridge.

“Chrom, we can’t just stand here and do nothing!” Lissa advised.

“Lissa, there’s nothing we can do,” Chrom said firmly.

Lissa rushed passed them in a hurry despite Chrom’s wishes.

“Lissa, wait!” Robin called out.

Before the sailor could take the woman away with the rest of the other men from the ship, Lissa approached the man with a tap of his shoulder.

“What is it?” the sailor asked as he looked at Lissa.

“By the order of Prince Chrom of Ylisse, I order you to release the woman from your custody,” Lissa announced.

The sailor just laughed.

“Look lady, I’m here on official business and this one is really dangerous. By royal decree, I can’t let it go.”

Lissa’s eye twitched upon hearing him call the woman ‘it’. She glared at him. “I do not think you understand-“

Chrom placed a hand to her shoulder. “Forgive my sister for making a horrible mistake.”

“But Chrom!”

“You better be pal, I oughta report you for this,” the man threatened. “But I won’t since we’re only going to stay here for the night.”

Robin approached him as well and bowed her head. “Then I do hope you enjoy your night’s rest.”

With a scoff, the sailor walked away with the woman trudging along in tow. Lissa glared at Chrom, hands crossed over her chest.

“Why did you stop me?! Did you see how he treated that poor woman?!” Lissa hissed.

“I know Lissa, but he said that it was a royal decree. If we were to force them to let her go then it could really anger other lands.”

“But-“

“I know its bad Lissa…I hate it too but we just can’t do anything right now.”

Lissa lowered her head. “I guess you’re right.”

Frederick added. “It is wise to keep in mind of the other nation’s wishes, we don’t know what dangers that woman holds instore.” Looking up at the sky, he guided Chrom, Lissa and Robin toward the road. “I believe we should return to the castle, it’s getting late.”

…

Robin arrived back at the port later that night. She pulled her hood over her head and strapped her bag around her hip which contained a few different tomes. She was ready to storm the ship. Pulling out a green tome, she looked up at the ship and closed her eyes.

“Elwind,” she whispered.

The air began to whirl in a small vortex around her. She slightly lifted her arms up and the gust of wind pushed her off the ground. While guiding her hand toward the ship, the vortex lifted her up and over the side of the ship where she planted her feet firmly on the ship’s deck.

Robin quickly ruled out all of the possibilities on where the sailors would be keeping the woman. After thinking about it, she believed that she was being kept below deck. Without wasting much time, Robin rushed over to the port side while being mindful of her footsteps. She comes across an opening in the ship’s deck with stairs leading to the lower deck.

Arriving at the hull of the ship, Robin noticed the cargo that the ship carried. It was full of crates, barrels, and weapons that it sort of demonstrates just how prepared these sailors were for their trip. Upon walking around the hull for a little bit, Robin noticed several chains on the floor that were attached to the sides of the walls.

Robin followed the chain’s trail and saw it lead to a cage where the woman with silver hair sat in. Robin approached the cage cautiously. She put away her green tome in her bag and pulled out a red tome.

“Ember,” she whispered.

A small ember burned over the palm of her free hand and lit the room. The sudden light startled the woman and she looked up at Robin with her red eyes.

The silver haired woman sat in the middle of the cage, two chains tied around her neck, her torso, and a chain tied to each of her arms and legs. Her white dress no longer looked white in the light, it was torn by the hem and she was left with nothing to protect her feet. If she didn’t see her this morning, Robin would have mistaken this woman for having brown hair. She could only imagine how awful this woman feels.

As Robin slowly approached the cage, the woman just stared at her without moving an inch. Robin knew this would either go really well or really bad. She looked at the lock and brought the ember close to the lock. Once the lock was heated enough, Robin pulled out a sword from its sheath. The woman’s body tensed up if only a little upon seeing the sword. Robin broke the lock off with the hilt of the sword.

Robin opened the cage’s door and took a step inside.

The woman’s eyed her, what she was feeling was unclear to Robin. She knew that she must be feeling scared right now, especially since she couldn’t see Robin’s face.

Robin pulled her hood down and let the woman see her face. The woman was apprehensive. As Robin slowly walked a little closer, she reached out to the woman only for the woman to launch herself at Robin and bit her arm.

Robin winced and tried her best to suppress a scream. Robin put away her sword to show the woman that she meant no harm.

“I-I won’t hurt you,” Robin whispered. “I can help you.”

The woman bit down as hard as she could. Robin whimpered but only smiled. She began to burn off the chains with her free arm. One by one, the woman felt the chains all over her body loosen up.

“There, you can move now.”

Hesitantly, the woman let go of Robin’s arm and looked at herself. She still had the master link tied to her neck, arms, legs, and torso, but overall she was no longer confide to the small space. She looked at Robin once more.

Robin continued to smile at the woman, even though she felt a strong searing pain on her arm. She held her good arm out to the woman.

“Come with me,” she said.

The woman slowly crawled over to Robin and carefully stood up on her feet.

“I will make sure no one will ever hurt you again.”

The woman stared at her, frightened yet hopeful. The moment she took a step towards Robin, her eyes fluttered and Robin stepped in, catching the woman as she collapsed in her arms.

“Let’s get you out of here,” Robin spoke softly.

By the next morning, Chrom passed back and forth in the throne room right as Lissa barged in right after.

“Lissa, thanks goodness. Have you gotten any word on Robin’s location?” he asked.

Lissa only shook her head. “No. She’s nowhere in the castle and no one has seen her since dinner. Frederick is on his way back here to tell us any information he’s gathered.”

“Gods, where are you Robin?” Chrom muttered.

“Milord!” Frederick hastily entered the throne room. “We found Robin, and you won’t believe who she has with her.”

Frederick led Chrom and Lissa to the castle courtyard where they saw Robin trudging through with a woman in her arms.

“Robin!” Chrom rushed to Robin’s side with Lissa and Frederick following in tow. “Robin, where were you? And-“ he trailed off when he saw the woman. “Is that who I think it is?”

“It’s the woman that we saw at the port,” Robin answered. “I went back last night and broke her out.”

Frederick was not happy about this one bit. “Do you know how dangerous that was? You could have thrown your life away for this woman who was not our problem.”

“Frederick…you did not see the condition that they left her in,” Robin began. “She was caged in like an animal, tied down if she were to be a rabid dog. It was awful.”

Lissa noticed the red stain on Robin’s arm. Lissa gasped. “Robin! Your arm!”

Chrom inspected her arm. “Did any of the sailors hurt you?”

Robin winced. “N-no, she just bit me.”

Frederick sighed. “All the more reason to just leave her there.”

“She was scared, Frederick! She didn’t know me and for all she knew, she thought I was going to hurt her.”

Chrom looked at the woman. “We need to get all of these chains off of her and get her cleaned up. Afterwards, we’ll let her rest in one of the rooms.” Chrom looked at Robin. “You need to rest too, knowing you, I bet you were up all night carrying her.”

“Of course, right after I help Lissa.”

Lissa nodded. “Okay then let’s get going.” She led Robin back inside of the castle.

Frederick approached Chrom and asked, “Do you really think it was wise of her to rescue that woman? I mean, think of the problems that’ll come up because of this.”

“I don’t know Frederick, but we can turn our backs to anyone who needs our help. And right now, she needs it.”

…

The woman opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar room. Frightened, she crawled out of the bed and ran out of the room. She felt weak and uneasy. She leaned against the wall and held her head, hoping that it would stop the room from spinning.

“What are you doing?” one of the soldiers asked her. “Don’t leave!”

The woman continued to run despite how she felt while she heard the soldier follow her from behind. She ran around the corner of every hallway that she saw, hoping to lose him among the countless halls. She eventually came across a door and she ran through it while she was looking back to see if he was still behind her.

“Chrom, it’s her!” a voice echoed in the room.

The woman saw four people standing in what appears to be a throne room of sorts. The room spun drastically then she felt herself trip on her own feet, falling face first to the floor.

“Oh gods!” one of the voices spoke up.

The woman’s attention wasn’t at the people but the soldier that was chasing her. The soldier did indeed run into the throne room right after the woman. She scrambled back on her feet, desperately finding some way away from him. She then saw the very same woman who approached her in her cage with the hood and stumbled towards her and fell into her arms.

“What’s going on?” the hooded woman asked.

“My apologies, Milord. I saw this woman run out of her room and grew concerned for her,” the soldier spoke.

The man with the blue hair nodded his head. “It’s quite alright, though I believe you startled our friend here.”

The soldier looked at the silver haired woman and bowed his head in regret. “My apologies, I did not mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” the hooded woman responded. “Go on back to what you were doing.” After the soldier left the room, the hooded woman looked down at the woman in her arms and smiled. “I’m sorry for all of that, I hope he didn’t scare you too much.”

The woman only looked down at her feet as the other three people in the room approached them. She grew frightened and hid her face in the hooded woman’s chest.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. My name is Lissa, and the one with blue hair is my brother, Chrom,” Lissa spoke. “That big bear is Frederick and he won’t hurt you, no need to be scared of him. Though I don’t blame you if you are.”

“And my name if Robin, I do hope you’re feeling much better,” she spoke softly.

The woman pulled her face away from Robin’s chest and looked up at her. “I-I…my name is…Corrin,” she murmured.

“Ah, so she does speak,” Frederick pointed out.

“Frederick!” Lissa scolded him.

“Corrin? Is that a foreign name?” Chrom asked her clearly ignoring Frederick’s remark. “You truly are not from around her then.”

Corrin shook her head.

“Well Corrin,” Robin began. “Like I promised you, no one is ever going to hurt you ever again.”

“Wh-where am I?” Corrin asked.

“You’re in the kingdom of Ylisse, and I am its prince,” Chrom said.

“Ylisse…?” the name sounded very familiar yet for a very different reason. “So…we’re not in Nohr?”

Lissa shook her head. “I’ve never heard of a kingdom called Nohr before. It must be very far away from Ylisse then.”

Corrin frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Robin asked Corrin.

“No-nothing.  It’s nothing…” Corrin said as she tried to hide her sadness. Clearly it didn’t work as Robin looked at Chrom.

“Well since you’re awake, you must be very hungry, I’m pretty sure they didn’t give you much to eat in that ship.” Corrin shook her head only to confirm Robin’s suspicions. They neglected her during the whole voyage. She didn’t even want to know what they did with her yesterday morning when they brought her off the ship. “Come, let’s get you something to eat.”

“You-you don’t have to…I’m not really hungry…” Corrin lied.

“Now, now Corrin, we insist,” Chrom added. “Come along, eat as much as you want and eat whatever you want.”

Chrom led everyone out of the throne room and into the dining room. Food is being brought in by the servants and placed on the dining table. Lissa quickly takes her seat and Chrom follows right after her, sitting next to her. Frederick takes a seat next to Chrom with Robin sitting across from them. Robin urged Corrin to sit next to her.

Corrin hesitated before complying. She took a seat right next to Robin and just stared at the food in front of her. It has been so long since she has eaten anything decent that she could almost scarf down everything in front of her.

Chrom chuckled. “No need to wait for us, go on ahead and eat.”

Corrin licked her lips. She grabbed almost everything in her sight and scarfed whatever she had in her hand.

Lissa gasped. “Eat slower, you’ll choke if you’re not careful!”

“You could also get sick,” Frederick added.

Corrin stopped eating for a moment and suddenly felt self-conscious about herself. Chrom frowned and also started eating a piece of bear meat from the table.

“This tastes delicious, don’t you think?” he asked. Corrin only nodded slightly.

After analyzing the woman, Frederick spoke up. “You don’t seem like you were starving, I’m guessing you were kept well fed, am I correct?”

“Um…y-yes.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t really been fed anything edible then.”

Corrin grew very quiet. Lissa and Chrom shot a glare at Frederick while Robin reached out and gently placed a hand on Corrin’s shoulder.

After lunch, Lissa and Robin led Corrin back into the room she woke up in. Lissa left them both alone so she could go fetch some new clothes for Corrin.

“So you can stay in this room for as long as you need to. Chrom insists on it.”

Corrin looked around the room. The decorations in the room looked much different than the room from her old home.

The room is quite spacious. The bed rests against the back corner of the room with windows hovering over the bed. Luckily blue curtains shield the bed from the sunlight that enters the room. There’s a wardrobe next to the door’s entrance and a couch sits in between the wardrobe and the bed. A baby blue rug lies in the middle of the room that pulls everything together.

Robin noticed that Corrin was spacing out. She rests her hand on Corrin’s shoulder and snaps her out of her daze. Corrin looked at Robin, not knowing what to say.

“Are you okay?” Robin asked her.

“I…I don’t want to talk about it…” Corrin muttered.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry for asking.”

Corrin shook her head. “No-no. I’m…I’m sorry…”

Lissa entered the room with new clothing in her hands. Corrin would be lying if she said that she didn’t want to try the new clothes that Lissa brought. The ruined dress only has dreadful memories that Corrin feels like she won’t be able to escape from.

Lissa held the dress so Corrin could get a better look at it. “I do hope you do not mind wearing another dress! White does look lovely on you so I do hope you don’t mind.”

“I-I…don’t mind at all.”

“Oh good! Robin, can you help her change into this dress while I go find a brush for her hair.”

Robin nodded. “Of course.”

Lissa hands the clothing to Robin and once again leaves the two women alone. Robin placed the clothes onto the bed and walked over to Corrin.

“Will you be uncomfortable if I helped you out of this dress?” Robin asked.

Corrin shook her head slowly. Robin begun to pull down on the straps of Corrin’s dress and slowly the dress started to slide off of Corrin. Robin suppressed a gasped. Long thin scars were ingrained all across Corrin’s back. Robin brushed Corrin’s hair past her shoulder to get a better look at the damages. Upon inspecting her closer, Robin noticed that a thick scar hugged Corrin’s neck.

“The chains…” Robin muttered.

“Huh?” Corrin looked over her shoulder.

Robin held Corrin’s arm.

“R-Robin?”

The scars were also ingrained on her wrists, her ankles, her torso, it was awful. Robin gently traced her fingers across Corrin’s back, she realized that she was holding her breath. Corrin tensed by Robin’s sudden touch. What did they do to this poor woman?

“Is…is it that bad?” Corrin asked.

Robin realized that Corrin must have never seen what those sailors did to her body. Robin smiled at her and only shook her head.

“No, it’s not,” she lied.

“Please don’t lie to me…I know it’s…it is bad,” Corrin whimpered. “It was horrible…”

“You do not need to talk about it now. Let’s get you dressed, okay?”

After changing Corrin’s undergarments, Robin helped her get into her new dress.

“Turn around for me,” Robin requested.

Corrin turned her back to Robin and held her arms up. Robin grabbed the black ribbon and wrapped it around Corrin’s waist. Corrin defensively brought her arms down, only for Robin to place a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, it won’t hurt,” Robin said.

Corrin hesitated but she lifted her arms up again. Robin tied the ribbon into a knot and stepped back.

“There, you look beautiful,” Robin complimented.

Corrin looked at Robin, blushing slightly. “Do I really…?”

Robin smiled. “Of course.”

Lissa returned with a brush in hand. “I’m back and oh! You look adorable, Corrin!” Corrin blushed lightly and played with her hair. “Here, let me brush that hair for you. Sit on the bed.”

Corrin sat down on the bed and Lissa sat down next to her. She took a lock of Corrin’s hair and begun to brush it gently. Lissa took note at Corrin’s shivering body and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle. Take a deep breath and relax,” Lissa said.

Corrin looked at Robin, almost as if she was looking for confirmation to Lissa’s words. Robin nodded.

“Hey Corrin,” Lissa spoke up.

“Hm...?”

“I don’t know if anyone has told you this, but you have such lovely hair.”

“I-I do…?”

“Mhm!”

Corrin smiled faintly. “Th-thank you.”

Robin sighed. “It’s really hot here.”

“Well if you would take that coat of yours off then maybe you wouldn’t be so hot!” Lissa scolded.

Robin chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Besides, I’m not going anywhere so I might as well.”

Robin pulled her arms into her coat and let it slide off of her shoulders, leaving her in her tank top. Corrin’s breath hitched the moment she saw the bandage covering Robin’s right arm. Lissa stopped brushing Corrin’s hair and crossed her arms.

“You better not be leaving that thing on the floor,” she said.

“I won’t. It’s just easier to take it off this way.” Robin leaned down and picked up her coat.

“Did…did I do that to you?” Corrin said out loud by accident.

Both Robin and Lissa looked at Corrin, a bit surprised by her question. Robin glanced down at her arm then at Corrin, suddenly realizing why Corrin looked so upset.

“It was when I attacked you…wasn’t it. When you broke into my cell...I bit down on your arm…”

Lissa was surprised. “She did that to you? I thought it was one of those guards from the ship. How did you- “

Corrin begun to tear up. “I’m…I’m so sorry….”

Lissa put down the brush beside them and held Corrin in her arms. “Shh, it’s okay. Robin’s not mad about it.”

Robin walked over to Corrin and Lissa and knelt down in front of them. “Lissa’s right, I’m not mad. Of course, it hurts but it will go away in time.”

“But why…” Corrin sniffled. “why aren’t you mad…I hurt you…”

Robin gently placed her hands on Corrin’s shoulders. “Listen to me, you were frightened back there. You did not know me and thought that I could have hurt you, am I right?”

Corrin nodded slowly.

“You’ve seen all of those sailors and those guards, then I come in and I could have killed you. You didn’t know, so you attacked me. I would have felt the same way if I was in your place.” Robin smiled at Corrin and wiped away her tears. “Trust me, I’m not mad.”

“Robin is trustable,” Lissa confirmed. “My brother trusted her when he first met her.”

Corrin smiled faintly, rubbing the last bit of tears from her eyes. “Thank you…thank you both, I’m still sorry but- “

Lissa giggled. “You apologize too much!”

This situation is completely new for her. Corrin has felt accepted before, but after the past few months, she almost forgot the feeling of actually feeling cared for. This may just be because she just met them and they took pity for her, but she truly does feel that she may be happy here. She feels safer. The only thing that hurts her heart is her family back home. Did she feel this way back home? Did she truly felt cared for? Does her family even miss her? Would she ever get back home? Only time would be able to tell.


	2. It All Begins with Her

Robin knocked on Corrin’s door. “Corrin? Are you awake?” she asked.

Without getting a response from Corrin, Robin opened the door to her room and saw that she wasn’t in her bed. Growing a bit worried, she was about to run out of the door until Corrin walked through the door.

“Oh Corrin, I thought you left,” Robin said.

“Ah n-no, I went to bathe for a little bit,” Corrin stuttered.

“I can leave you for a bit so you can change freely.”

“Um!”

Before Robin could leave, she looked at Corrin when she spoke up.

“I…need a little help with my hair, if that is okay with you…” Corrin muttered.

Robin smiled. “Of course, I’ll step outside so you can change. Just knock on the door and I’ll show myself in.”

Corrin nodded. Robin stepped outside and Corrin was left alone in her room and her thoughts.

Everything is still scary to her. She could barely sleep last night even though she knows that this place is much safer than the ship she was on for the past few months. She could not stop thinking about her siblings back home. Tears stung her eyes, how she missed them terribly.

Robin heard the knock from behind the door which signaled her to go inside. Opening the door, she saw Corrin staring down at the floor dressed in a long grey gown, her damp hair drenched her back with a brush in hand. Robin felt a sort of sadness emitting from Corrin that only made her feel sorry for the woman.

Robin walked over to Corrin, sat down next to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Her hair is still damp.

“Hey, are you okay?” Robin asked.

“It hurts…” Corrin sniffled.

“What hurts?”

Corrin shook her head, not able to say anything. Robin understood and just took a lock of Corrin’s hair and began brushing it. She made sure not to pull too hard nor too fast, it’s one of the problems with long hair is dealing with the knots.

“You know, you have really pretty hair,” Robin said. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Y-yes…my older sister used to- “ Corrin paused herself before she could say any more and Robin immediately understood what was causing so much pain to the woman. She decided not to push as Corrin did not seem ready to talk about her sister.

“Well, you do and I’m glad that someone has told you that before.”

“Th-thank you,” Corrin said.

…

“So Corrin,” Lissa spoke up. “Do you like it here so far?”

After Robin brushed her hair, Corrin asked if she could be left alone with her thoughts. She felt like Robin wanted to decline but still left her alone anyways. She was alone with her thoughts for a while until Lissa entered her room and offered to take Corrin somewhere in the castle. She reluctantly agreed.

“I only stayed one night Lissa,” Corrin smiled faintly. “I still don’t know how to feel about all this….”

“How come? Is there something we did wrong?”

“Ah! No, n-no, it’s not that…” Corrin paused. “It’s...such a drastic change from my old life and how I have been living from the past several months…”

“Is it really that drastic?” Lissa mused.

“It feels drastic to me…” Lissa frowned from the sound of Corrin’s tone, hopefully taking Corrin to her favorite spot in the castle might cheer her up.

Upon opening a door sectioned off from the rest of the busy hallways, Corrin had to shield her eyes from the bright, stinging sunlight. Lissa can’t help but laugh at Corrin as she took Corrin’s arm and guided the blinded woman through the door.

“I know you can’t see anything but just follow me.” Lissa spoke in a hushed tone almost as if she’s trying to calm Corrin.

The grass felt funny in between Corrin’s toes, she had never seen nor felt well grown grass back home. All of the plant life at home was either dead or nonexistent so the feeling was very pleasant. Maybe it was because of all this warm weather.

After walking a few feet, Corrin felt Lissa stop and the air around her was cooler. Lissa let go of her hand and Corrin heard rustling of the grass right next to her.

“Take a seat, I promise that you’ll be fine,” Lissa said. Corrin did as Lissa instructed and took a seat on the ground. “Lean back.” Hesitantly, Corrin leaned back only to feel the firm base of a tree’s bark. “Try to open your eyes.”

Corrin slowly opened her eyes, the light still stung and she had to quickly shut them. After several attempts and fluttering her eyes, she finally opened them and gasped at the beautiful sight of a garden that the courtyard had to offer.

A beautiful array of flowers and fauna welcomed her as the warm air gently embraced her. Looking up, the tree that she rested against shielded her from the sunlight. She definitely did not have any of this back home.

Lissa was satisfied with Corrin’s awed expression knowing full well that Corrin is taking all of this. This garden was one of Lissa’s favorite places to sit and let time pass her by, especially when her older sister, Emmeryn, would join her. It felt so long since Lissa has been here, way before Emmeryn…

“This is beautiful!” Corrin laughed so much joy that it brought Lissa out of her depressing thoughts.

“Isn’t it? I loved coming here to calm down after a very stressing day,” Lissa smiled.

Thinking about it a little bit, Corrin turned to Lissa. “Are you stressed today, Lissa?”

Lissa shook her head. “No, not today. I figured that you were feeling very stressed after everything that you have been through. My older sister, Emmeryn would bring me here when I feel like that, and I just thought that I could bring you here to make you feel better. It’s a way to show that I care about you and that we’re friends!”

“Ah, Lissa…” Corrin sniffled.

“Don’t cry you big baby,” Lissa laughed as she nudged Corrin a little. “We came here to make you happy, not sad.”

“But I am happy…at least I’m feeling happier than before.”

“I’m glad!”

…

Corrin and Lissa spent their time talking to one another under the tree, well it was more that Lissa rambled about the garden and the friends she’s met in the past year. Corrin just listened since she didn’t feel like talking much herself. After a while, Lissa had to leave to meet a friend of hers and told Corrin that she was free to roam around the castle.

So now Corrin is doing just that, she is walking around the courtyard which seemed to extend around the castle. She didn’t know what to do now, Corrin never had this much freedom before, so now she is just walking without a purpose. She thought about going back inside and retreating into her room. But before she did, she was stopped by the sounds of metal clinging around the corner of the castle walls.

Corrin followed the sounds only to find Chrom and Frederick at an open field wielding weapons that are aimed at each other. Frederick held a steel lance in one hand and a shield on the other, he took a step back and held what seemed like a defensive stance. Corrin couldn’t tell what type of sword Chrom was wielding because she has never seen that type of sword before. The hilt looked like it had a hole in the middle of a shape of a tear drop. Were they sparring?

“Milord, you must allow your body to relax. If you put too much stress in your muscles you will never follow up with swifter movements,” Frederick spoke up.

“Yes, of course Frederick.”

Frederick charged forward and thrusted his lance towards Chrom who swiftly dodged the attack. Chrom then raised his arm and swung his sword upwards and knocked Frederick’s lance out of his grasp and landed on the ground far from them. Corrin somehow felt at ease watching them both spar. Chrom took a step back and was prepared to attack Frederick until he saw Corrin watching them from afar.

“Corrin, I didn’t know you were here,” Chrom said as he walked over to her.

Corrin jumped. “O-oh…um, I’m sorry! I can leave you two alone… “

“It’s fine,” Chrom chuckled. “You don’t have to leave, we were just sparring.”

“Do you both um…do this every day?” she asked them.

“That’s right, Frederick is a great sparring partner because he never holds back on me.”

“Even though it pains me deeply, I must prepare Milord for any danger that may present itself.” Frederick picked up the lance from the ground. “And we must continue, we cannot allow for ourselves to be distracted.”

Corrin understood that Frederick wanted her to leave. She turned around and begun to walk away.

“You seemed interested, Corrin,” Chrom said to her. “Would you like to join us for a little bit?”

She stopped walking only for Frederick to speak up. “Are you certain that you want her to accompany us?”

“I’m sure, Frederick. I know you mean well but we shouldn’t turn away someone if they mean no harm.” Chrom approached Corrin and put a hand on her shoulder. “Would you like to spar with m, Corrin?”

Corrin looked at Chrom, smiling faintly. “I…I would like to. Thank you…”

Chrom led Corrin back to the open field where Frederick waited and traded his steel lance for an iron axe. He put down the shield since he would have no way to carry both the axe and shield. Chrom inspected the weapon rack and looked at Corrin.

“Have you sparred before, Corrin?” Chrom asked.

“I-I have…I used to constantly spar with my older brother whenever he would visit me…”

Chrom noticed Corrin’s somber tone. He hoped that this could help Corrin feel right at home. He took an iron sword and handed it to her.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if Frederick and I don’t hold back?”

Corrin thought back to her older brother then held a firm grip on the hilt of her sword and held a strong stance. “I would be insulted if you did,” Corrin said confidently.

Both Chrom and Frederick were taken back by Corrin’s sudden courage. Frederick wasted no time in starting and charged at Corrin with his axe. Corrin noticed that Frederick’s swinging is quite slower than his lance movements from earlier. She evaded his swing only to catch Chrom leaping at her. Corrin managed to swing her sword upwards and block Chrom’s attack.

Frederick approached Corrin from behind and thrusted the hilt of his axe downwards onto Corrin’s back. Corrin screeched as the attack made contact, she collapsed to her knees and dropped her sword. Chrom knelt down next to Corrin and placed a hand on her back. She gritted her teeth.

“You did well at first,” Frederick said. “However, you allowed your attention to completely focus on Milord. This allowed for an attack by another enemy. If this was a real battle, you would have been dead.”

“You did well, Corrin. Even after being out at sea for as long as you were, you still were able to hold your own.”

“I didn’t last long...”  Corrin muttered.

Chrom smiled. “You always have room to improve. I’m willing to train you if you would allow me. I may not be as skilled as your brother, but I know my ways with a sword.”

“Why are you willing to train someone you don’t even know,” Corrin asked.

“Because we are friends, and I always am willing to help a friend who is in need.”

Corrin blinked. “F-friends…?”

Frederick took a step towards Chrom and placed a hand on his shoulder. Chrom noticed Frederick’s sudden apprehension. “Milord, surely you do not think of her as-“

Chrom interrupted Frederick with a laughing. “I can assure you, Frederick that I do.”

“I do not want to insult you Chrom…but it is a little concerning that you would trust a stranger so easily...” Corrin said.

Chrom laughed. “Well I did the same with Robin and I can assure you that I don’t regret our friendship.”

“Oh, so you and Robin are-“

“Chrom!” a voice called from inside the castle. Corrin did not recognize the voice so she assumed to be someone unknown to her.

A man walked out through entrance of the castle and approached Chrom. Corrin shrank behind Chrom.

“Oh Lon’qu, I was wondering where you have gone,” Chrom said.

“I was out scouting. I have heard rumors that bandits have been spotted along the Boarder Pass, the mountainous area in between Ylisse and Plegia, harassing all the merchants and travelers entering or exiting Ylisse.” The man by the name of Lon’qu peeks behind Chrom and spotted Corrin. Both Corrin and Lon’qu take a step back as they are both startled by the other’s presence.

“Ah right, you’ve yet to meet Corrin.” Chrom took a step to the side so Corrin was in full view of Lon’qu. “Corrin’s the woman that Robin rescued the night prior, the one I’ve told you about.”

“So… This is her.” Lon’qu began less than enthusiastic. “I did not expect to meet her so soon,” Lon’qu muttered a little loud enough for Corrin to hear.

“Pardon Lon’qu, he is a little…uncomfortable with women. It’s a little complicated,” Chrom smiled.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Corrin lied. She pushed away the thought of Lon’qu’s words.

Chrom looked at Lon’qu again with a sense of urgency. “So, you were saying something about bandits?”

“There were multiple confirmed reports,” Lon’qu said.

“It seems we must put a stop to this bandit situation,” Frederick added. “What do you think, Milord?”

“Frederick, round up Robin and Lissa and inform them about the situation. If it truly is just bandits then I see no reason to bring an army. Lon’qu,” Chrom begun as he and Lon’qu’s eyes met. “I want you to stay here.”

Lon’qu bowed his head. “Of course, Chrom. I will be your support.”

Chrom then looked at Corrin knowing full well that she must be very confused about the situation at hand. Walking up to her, he handed her an iron sword and smiled.

“How good are you at fighting bandits?”

…

Their footsteps echoed all across the mountainous environment around them. Besides the footprints, the eerie silence was not a welcoming one. Chrom felt it, he felt a presence near but is unable to distinguish where.

“Keep guard everyone,” Chrom warned his band of Shepherds. “You don’t know where the bandits could be hiding.”

“Lissa!” Frederick yelled. “Look out!”

“Wha-“

Before Lissa could react, an electric bolt blocked an oncoming axe from hitting her. Lissa took a step back when she eyed the axe that dropped on the ground.

“R-Robin…thank you,” Lissa gasped.

Robin didn’t take her gaze away from the direction the axe was thrown. “You! From above the rockface, I know you are there now show yourself!”

A barbarian exposed himself from his hiding spot and grabbed hold of an axe that lay next to him. One by one, several dark mages, thieves, and myrmidons unveiled themselves and the Shepherds found themselves in the middle of an ambush.

“Look what we have here, his majesty and his pathetic servants. How may we help you?”  the barbarian bellowed in a condescending tone.

Chrom took a step forward with Falchion in hand. “Are you Plegians the supposed thieves that I have been hearing so much about?”

“Maybe we are, maybe we aren’t!” one of the thieves spat out. “You’re so rude assuming we are Plegians, maybe we’re Ylissians and you’re just being flat out awful!”

“So why are you all wearing Plegian armor and using Plegian weaponry?” Frederick pointed out.

The barbarian glared at the thief who spoke up just a moment ago. He took a step forward and aimed his axe at them. “Enough talk, we fight! Hya!!”

The barbarian threw his hand axe at Chrom and the others who jumped out of the way from the weapon’s path. At that moment, the two mages launched an electrical and fire ball towards them. Chrom, Lissa and Frederick jumped to one side while Robin, and Corrin jumped to the other side then the ball of electricity and fire hit the ground and separated the two parties.

Two thieves and two myrmidons approached Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick. While the two dark mages approached Robin while the barbarian approached Corrin.

The thieves both launched themselves towards Chrom with their swords. Swinging their swords wildly, Chrom was able to move out of the way through all of their attacks. As their attacks continued, their movements grew slowly and more sluggish since they grew tired. Chrom was able to find an opening in their attack and swung his sword down on one thief who dropped to the ground then quickly drove his sword through the other one’s abdomen.

Robin was cut off from the rest of the group, the only weapon she had, her tome, had already ran out of usage. She looked down at her page less book, gritting her teeth. She had to run away, there was no other choice, Robin took in her surroundings.

Lissa stood behind Chrom and Frederick, waving her staff and healing them both. Chrom and Frederick were busy keeping the myrmidons and thieves at bay. Looking to her right, Corrin was alone, fending off their leader, the barbarian. And Robin, herself, was fending off the dark mages on her own. If she could regroup with Corrin then her chances at survival will rise.

But before Robin could run, several of the dark mages blasted her with Thunder. With the electricity coursing in her body and paralyzing her, she screamed as she dropped her tome and collapsed to the ground.

Chrom looked over at Robin, eyes widening. “No! Robin!”

“Chrom, we have to go over to her!” Lissa pleaded.

“But how if we’re surrounded,” Frederick reasoned with Lissa. “We mustn’t rush through these fiends without thinking this through.”

“But…Robin…”

Corrin looked up to see Robin collapsed on the ground. “Robin!” Corrin cried out.

The barbarian glanced back then smirked. “Your friend is as good as dead,” he chuckled.

The dark mages all held their arms out to Robin, their fingertips sparking with electricity. Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa could only watch from afar as they were unable to go through the myrmidons and thieves in time to save Robin.

But before the dark mages could land a blow, a scream pierced the thick air. The barbarian’s smirk had disappeared as he looked back at Corrin. Her body was hunched over, her nails digging into the ground underneath her. A dark purple aura surrounded her whole body as her screams could no longer be called screams.

“Nghh….gah…ahhHHH!!!”

Bones could be heard cracking as they were disjointing out of place. Corrin’s grunts grew more ragged, as if she was beginning to growl loudly. At the very same time, water from the atmosphere started to gather around the woman. Everyone could only watch in fear at the display that they saw.

The water engulfed Corrin as she screamed one last time. In the middle of her scream, her voice was distorted to what sounded like a roar. As the water dispelled, Corrin was no longer there, instead a four-legged silver dragon with long sharp antlers took her place.

“Chrom…” Lissa gasped. “What…what is that…?”

“It looks like…a dragon.” Chrom said. “But I have never seen a dragon like that before.”

The dragon stood on its hind legs, stretched its wings out and let out a very powerful roar.

The barbarian gritted his teeth. “No overgrown lizard is going to make a fool out of me!” He took a step forward and swung his axe at the dragon. As it made contact, the axe didn’t even cut through the scales. “No! You piece of—”

The barbarian’s screams were cut off by the dragon swiping its tail at him, launching him against a boulder and silencing him.

The other Plegian bandits watched with cold feet as they had just witnessed their leader be swatted by a dragon like a fly as if it was nothing. One by one, they all fled the scene as they feared for their lives. They no longer had the upper hand with their numbers, not if this dragon can kill them with just a tail swipe.

The dragon roars, claiming its victory over the barbarian. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick stood their ground. Chrom didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to hurt the dragon knowing that it was Corrin, but the fact stands, that rampaging dragon is Corrin.

Frederick made a stand and guided his horse in front of Chrom and Lissa. If that dragon were to attack them, then he will do what it takes to protect Chrom and Lissa. There were only two things he worried about, if he is even able to take that thing down, and Robin as she is not anywhere near them.

“Frederick, what are you doing?!” Lissa asked him.

“When I say I will guard you both with my life I meant it my Princess,” Frederick spoke calmly if only to dispel any fear he felt.

“Frederick, don’t hurt Corrin!” Chrom ordered him.

Frederick jerked his head and looked at Chrom. “With all due respect, Milord, but that thing will kill us all if I don’t stop it!” Frederick said as he didn’t bother to hide his concern over the situation.

“That _thing_ is our friend, Frederick,” Chrom said firmly in return.

Lissa gasped and broke up the argument by shouting out, “it’s going after Robin!”

The dragon turned its sights on Robin who was barely gaining consciousness. Robin sat up as she rubbed the back of her head then looked up, meeting face to face with the silver dragon. Its jaw unhinged and opened up, roaring at Robin who shielded herself and screamed. The dragon latched its claw around Robin’s throat and pinned her to the ground.

“Robin!!!” he friends cried out.

Robin struggled to breathe as she grabbed the dragon’s claw with both of her hands in hopes of prying them off.

“Corrin! Let go of her!” Chrom demanded.

Robin’s eyes widened at the sound of Corrin’s name. _‘That thing was Corrin?! What happened to her?! Who did this?!’_ she thought.

“I will get her off of Robin!” Frederick said as he reared his horse

Chrom stepped in front of Frederick with his arms open wide. “Frederick don’t, you’ll be killed and I won’t let you hurt Corrin!”

All the voices just begun to echo. Robin let one of her hands go and instead of gripping on the dragon’s claw, she gently held it. The dragon’s growls lessened and eased up at Robin’s sudden touch.

“Corrin…” Robin managed to utter out. “…please…don’t…”

The dragon stared at Robin for a moment before leaning in closer much to everyone’s dismay. Robin could no longer keep her hand on the dragon’s claw then let it fall right next to her. “If…if you want to kill me…then please…do it as yourself…” Robin said as her last words, feeling like she will die soon.

The dragon yanked its head away from Robin as those words echoed in the back of her head. Those familiar words.

_‘Kill me if you want but do it as yourself.’_

The dragon pulled away from Robin, finally letting her breathe, before letting out another painfully loud roar. The water in the air gathers around the dragon before engulfing the body fully. The roars changed into a woman’s screams. The water dispelled and Corrin lay on the ground, panting and gasping.

“Robin! Corrin!” Chrom quickly rushed to Robin’s aid.

Lissa following behind and knelt down to Corrin’s side while Frederick got off of his horse and cautiously approached Lissa and Corrin.

“Ch-Chrom…?” Robin gasped.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” he spoke softly.

“Corrin…what happened to Corrin…?” she asked him, trying to sit up to get a look at Corrin. She was relieved to see that Lissa was cradling her and checking on her vitals.

“She’s going to be fine,” Chrom reassured Robin.

Off in the distance up high above the hilltops, two of the dark mages from earlier are looking down at them then look at each other. They both put away their tomes then walk away from the scene.

 “How interesting to find such a weird looking dragon on our lands,” one of them says. “I’ve never seen anything like it, how about you?”

The other dark mage shook his head, smiling. “No, but it would be great for the good of all the Grimleal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long to write. I got more into drawing than writing during school since the last update on this chapter and it was a long time coming. I hope this one didn't disappoint and now that I basically found a way to get my creative muse out during work, I should be writing more. I do apologize once again but I do hope it was worth the wait, and as the chapter says, "It all begins with her." Comments are always appreciated!


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